Hey guys,

Life is good? It should be. Atleast the fact that the Covid 19 scare is calming down abit gives us reason to say, we good. I want to start sharing a line of inspirational articles that give life lessons on this wonderful platform. I am glad to be able to share my findings with you. Today I write about mental health/ strength.

When I write about mental health I do not necessarily want to mean mental illness but I would want to focus on mental well-being and strength. Why is mental health very important?

Developing your mental strengths will be one of the most important life skills that you will develop in your life. Mental strength development will help you manage and overcome stress, which comes about as a result of self-doubt, worry about the future, depression, or other problems that can hinder you from moving forward with your life.

Developing a strong mental strength or muscle takes time and it requires you to push yourself beyond your limits beyond your comfort zones into situations where you are creating different patterns of pathways in your brain.

Source

It has been scientifically proven that when you do something that's beyond your comfort zone or that you have not been doing before or that is not routine to you you start to create new pathways for your brain and this makes it better for you to think and be more creative.

As you work on it each day you will become better at it will become natural. The first step is to change your mindset and there are two types of mindsets the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.

The fixed mindset is one that does not approve of changing beyond someone's comfort zones, is stunted and it's the thinking that some things are impossible to achieve, whilst the growth mindset looks to conquer and to explore and to fail and still stand to pass.

How do you achieve a growth mindset?

By embracing change. By being hopeful and optimistic even when things are at their worst. Take for instance this scriptural reference.

“If thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”
Doctrine and Covenants 122

Change how and when you react to unexpected situations.

In life it will always be normal to find an expected situation in your life take for instance covered 19 pandemic has caught the world of Guard, But you see it's not out of the ordinary many of us have experienced tabulent times during our lifetimes. It could be the death of a loved one or it could be break up or the lost of a job, etc. As a matter of fact I have learned that as we make our own plans, God also makes plans for us. As we go through our schedules with everything mapped out, It may not necessarily go as we expect. The causes in delay can be disease, traffic jam, lack of money, an irresponsible person etc.

So the big question is how do you respond to setbacks ?. Instead of being angry instead of being frustrated and helpless and stressed, a fixed mindset will pause and reflect and find solution. I have discovered that many times no matter what you do or say if something is bound to happen or has already happened it doesn't matter wether you stress over it or not. Just go with the flow and see positive from the negative. In this way nothing will ever face you and you will not have to deal with disappointment in your life.

Sometimes it is helpful to breathe in and out for some time or go for a stroll or even tell yourself out loud that this problem is temporary and it will end.

See obstacles in a different way.

There have been times when you missed something, but then later on realized it as a way that God had protected you. For instance consider that you were going for an event and the driver delayed on the way because of the traffic and then you decide to take a taxi. The driver does not find you where he was supposed to find you and so he takes other people to that same event that you're going to.

Unfortunately, they do not make it to that event. Later in the day you hear that the car you were supposed to move with got an accident and nobody survived.

This is a very often a shared experience for it may not necessarily be a car experience or coming late but it may be some other incident, that was 'bad' when it happened but turned out to be for the 'good' when you learned the reason that it happened.

I have a friend who used to give birth to girls only and she used to pray to God to give her son but it never happened. After they broke up, she met a man who told her that had she had a son, he would never have had the courage to be responsible for her and her son.

I also have a friend who broke up with a white boyfriend and she thought she would die many years later she's married to the love of her life and she's thankful that she broke up with the white boyfriend. Turns out, it was for the good. In those moments when you’re trying to rationalize the situation, you’re blaming the obstacles (in this instance, people) for not letting you achieve your goal. To put it differently, you’re giving the external factors top priority and more importance than anything you can do.

But what if obstacles were to serve a divine purpose in your life? Instead of using them as an excuse to avoid or even to quit something, you can use them to your advantage. Embrace them.

Grow your mindset.

Source

When you develop a growth mindset, you start seeing yourself as a person who can be better, who can overcome obstacles and one who won't back down no matter the storms. Consistency over time is a super power, if you didn't know. You have heard the saying, "Fall ten times, get up twenty".

Instead of feeling hopeless and weak, feeble minded and inferior, broke and a failure, you ought to feel more powerful about making changes in your life if those changes help you to move a step forward. Take on the 1% increase each day, the change will be greater than the failures. Of course it won't always be easy. The scriptures say, "from small and miniature things are great things brought to pass".

Reduce your association with toxic people.

This part is not going to be easy because sometimes the people that are closest to us are the people that hurt us the most and it makes it almost impossible to stop the pain when it comes

So to say, they are people in our lives that are always negative and they always show us how things are hard to get, how marriage is hard, how education is hard, how making friends is hard, how leaving a simple life is hard! I must say that with such whining and complaining you cannot have optimism. Such kinds of people make you doubt yourself and your abilities.

They will claim they know what’s best for you and they care about what happens to you, but it's better to have one good powerful and inspirational person than a dozen oxen intoxicating your personality.

Practice saying NO.

I have discovered that when you feel that you do not want to do something just say no. When you feel that something is not in your league and somebody is forcing you to do it just say no! When you feel you have had enough of a toxic relationship just say no! When you feel somebody is putting you down and making you feel like you don't fit in like you are not beautiful enough, you are not rich enough just say no!

Never feel inclined to answer humiliation or anger intended triggers. Do not give ear to nonsense speakers. Make use of your valuable time. Watch a movie that you've wanted to watch for a long time, go for a stroll, take yourself out, take your children out, make love to your partner, make those moments count and dwell on the positive side.

I hate small talk. I don't want to sit gossiping about other people because it doesn't help me. I love to talk about books, I love to talk about discovery channel stories, I love to talk about what the brain is made up of, I love to discover good food, I love to learn recipes and songs and how to play the guitar. I want to talk about those moments when you attracted to someone, the love making, the desires of a human body. I love to talk about the economics of a country, I love to talk about politics and children and humanitarian work! I hate small talk!

Saying no to distractions helps you make a positive change that impacts each day of your life. Develop that strength today!

Chaó Adios.